Sheppey, Isle of

Sheppey, Isle of, c.30 sq mi (80 sq km), Kent, SE England, at the mouth of the Thames, separated from the mainland by The Swale, a narrow strait. It is largely flat, with wave-eroded cliffs to the north. Vegetables and grain are grown on the fertile soil, and sheep are raised. The chief towns are Sheerness, a resort, and Minister, where a church founded there in the late 7th cent. contains the tomb of Robert Shurland, the protagonist of a story in R. H. Barham's Ingoldsby Legends.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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